My Little Dhampir
by TheHiddenMuse
Summary: Fear made RD and Fluttershy run away from Star Swirl's. In a world filled with danger both inside and out of the Academy's iron gates, they must navigate through this world and without letting their guard down, lest the Changelings take them as a snack.
1. Foreword

Fluttershy Dragonborn is a Bloodhorse princess: a pony with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from the Cai Rele; the fiercest and most dangerous ponies-the ones bound to nightmare moon in exchange for immortality.

The powerful blend of both Saddled pony and Bloodhorse blood that flows through Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy's best friend, makes her a Bronco; she is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting the princess from the Cai Rele, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.

After two years of being runaways, the Dynamic Duo are caught and dragged back to Star Swirl the Bearded's Academy, an academy in Ponyville's infamous Everfree forest. Rainbow Dash will continue her bronco education. Fluttershy will go back to being Queen of the elite Bloodhorse social scene, despite being one of the most introverted ponies ever. And both girls will resume breaking hearts.

Fear made them run away from Star Swirl's-but their world is fraught with danger both inside and out of the Academy's iron gates. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Bloodhorses perform unspeakable rituals and their secretive nature and love of the night creates a mystical world full magic and mystery. Both must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Cai Rele make anypony one of them forever...


	2. One

I FELT HER FEAR BEFORE I heard her screams, which were never very loud. Her nightmare pulsed into me, stunning me out of my own dream. Images-hers, not mine- tumbled through my mind: Fire and blood, the sharp metallic smell of lightning, the jagged, broken pieces of wood. The images suffocated me, until some sane part of my brain reminded me that this wasn't my dream.

I jolted awake, strands of long, multicolored mane sticking to my forehead. Fluttershy lay thrashing about in her bed. Dutifully, I crossed the few feet of space between us.

"Flutters," I said, shaking her. "Flutters wake up."

Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Blueblood," she moaned. "Oh, Celestia."

I helped her sit up. "Fluttershy, this isn't real. Wake up."

In the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a hoof over her light pink mane.

"It's okay," I told her gently. "Everything's okay."

"I had that dream again, Dash."

"Yeah," I grumbled, "I know."

We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the night stand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly. Attracted by the light, our house mate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the window sill He gave me a wide berth -I don't like many animals, and they're just fine disliking me in return- but jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against Fluttershy, purring softly.

Animals didn't have a problem with Pegasi who happened to be specialized in the care and healing of animals- I wonder why. Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further.

Yes, felt. A few years ago, a little after the car accident, I discovered I could read Fluttershy's mind. Now most would think it a cool power, but sometimes it can get a little annoying. There was no way to control how the bond went; usually I would get glimpses into her emotions, but when her feelings were very strong, I would get pulled into her head without warning.

My stomach grumbled.

Fluttershy giggled, "You okay?"

Her pale, blue-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. "I'm going to get you something to eat."

My protests came awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. The drowsiness had not yet vanished, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window.

"Stupid lame cat." I told him.

His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his jet-black fur. His tail started twitching. My smile faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun, and I waited for it to right itself before stumbled to the window to see what Oscar was seeing.

He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever twisted his whiskers.

A warm breeze-too warm to be scheduled by the Manehattan weather ponies during the fall- played with my mane as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time the city settled down, at least a little bit. A streetlight flickered on the other side of the road, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shapes of carriages and buildings.

And a stallion watching me.

I jerked back in surprise. Somepony stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away, where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I probably could have thrown something and hit him.

The shadows covered him so well that I couldn't make out any of his features, save for his height. He was tall, really tall for a Pegasus. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw him extend his wings and join some other pony before the night obscured both of them.

Whoever these figures were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most everypony. This time, the cat had sensed something, something that put him on edge.

Icy fear chilled my spine. Backing up from the window, I jerked on my saddle bag, nearly falling over in the process.

Once they were on, I grabbed our wallets. Not caring to stretch out my wings, I flew out the door. Downstairs, I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our house mates, Amethyst Star, sat at the table, hopelessly trying to pry open a peanut butter jar. Fluttershy regarded me with surprise: "You shouldn't be up."

"We have to go. Now."

Her eyes widened, and then it clicked. "Are you -really?" I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did.

Amethyst watched us curiously: "What's wrong?"

An idea came to mind. "Flutters, get us an alibi."

She looked back and forth between us. "What are you-"

Fluttershy walked over to her without hesitation. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond, but there was something else too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be safe. As usual, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust.

She smiled broadly and gazed directly into her eyes. For a moment, Amethyst just stared, still confused, and then I saw Fluttershy's soft, yet powerful stare seize her. Her eyes glazed over, and she regarded her adoringly.

"We need you to stay quiet," she said in a gentle voice, gentler than the one she usually uses. "You don't know us, right?"

She smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to the stare, something only the Bloodhorse ponies could do, but I could still feel its effects when it was directed at another person. That and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong.

"Thank you."

She nodded obligingly. I got the impression she would have chopped off her own horn for her right then if she'd asked. All "Saddled" ponies were susceptible to compulsion, but Amethyst appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now.

"Come on," I told her. "We've got to fly."

We snuck outside the back window; heading toward a group of cumulus clouds that had formed. I was still drowsy and incredibly sore, so I kept stumbling, unable to fly as quickly as I wanted. Fluttershy had to catch hold of me a few times to stop me from falling. All the time, that anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with.

"Rainbow, What are we going to do if they catch us?" she whispered.

"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."

"But if they catch us-"

"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just trot over to the train station and go to Neigh Mexicolt. They'll lose us there."

I made it sound simple. I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been gone for two years now, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish school. Senior year had just started; we were so close to being free.

I felt her faith in me surge up. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened- usually in a reckless manner. She was the more reasonable one, the one who to the cautious and careful steps. Both our styles had their uses, but at the moment, we needed a burst of radicalness; there was no time to hesitate.

Fluttershy and I had been best friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell Fluttershy Alicia Dragonborn and Rainbow Danger Dash was torture, and we'd-or rather, I'd- responded appropriately. I'd kicked our teacher and called her a totalitarian mule. I hadn't known what I said, but I'd known how to buck a pony where it hurt.

Fluttershy and I had been inseparable ever since.

"Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly. I recognized the sound: Wing flaps, quick and powerful trailed behind us.

"We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm.

"But you can't-"

"Fly."

It took all of my willpower not to knock out in midflight. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching and pulled Fluttershy along as our wings glided swiftly along the wind.

The beating of wings grew louder, closer. Ahead of us, I could make out the clouds. Oh Luna, if we could just make it-

Ten feet from the clouds, a tall stallion stepped directly into our path. We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Fluttershy back by her hoof. It was him, the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us by about six or seven years. And he really was as tall as I thought, about 14 hands tall. In a different situation-say, when he wasn't preventing our daring escapade-I would have thought he was hot. He had a deep navy blue mane, which was messily blown back from the air. Dark stormy blue eyes. And the coolest pair of shades I had ever seen- I think they were called aviator goggles. Then I saw the blue and yellow Wonderbolts uniform, which had officially sent me into fits of mental fangirling. The Wonder bolts were the most highly ranked guardian flyers, they exclusively guarded royals. To join their ranks was a lifelong dream of mine; it was the only way I could guard Flutters.

However, his hotness was unimportant at the moment. He was just an obstacle keeping Fluttershy and I away from the clouds, our freedom. There was a call from below, and I knew our pursuers had caught up. Off to the sides, I detected more movement, more ponies surrounding us. By Celestia, they'd sent almost a dozen guardians to find us. I couldn't believe it. Not even the high Princesses traveled with that many. Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning -as usual-, I acted out of instinct. I kept Fluttershy behind me and away from the guy.

"Leave her alone," I huffed. "Don't touch her."

His face was unreadable, but he held out his hooves in some calming gesture, like I was a rabid cockatrice he was planning to sedate.

"I'm not going to-"

He took a step forward. Too close.

I attacked him, leaping out in an offensive maneuver I hadn't used in the two years we had run away. The move was stupid. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. He also wasn't as groggy as I was.

And man, was he fast. I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be, how they could move and strike like manticores. He knocked me off as though brushing away a parasprite and his hands slammed into me and sent me backwards. I don't think he meant to strike that hard-probably just intended to keep me away-but my lack of coordination interfered with my ability to respond.

Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall, heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first. It was going to hurt. A lot.

Only it didn't.

Just as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my leg, keeping me upright. When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me. Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that it fell forward around my face. My hair was thick and long and unlike any other ponies- rainbow colored. I'd grown it out just to show every pony that my hair was at least twenty percent cooler than any other mane out there.

The guy's dark eyes lingered on me for a few more seconds. I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he'd wanted. I backed toward Fluttershy again, bracing myself for another attack. Suddenly, she placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Rainbow," she said quietly, "don't."

Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across through the bond. It wasn't exactly the stare -she'd never use that on me-but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outranked. Even I knew struggling would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat.

Sensing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention toward Fluttershy. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful doing it, which surprised me considering his height.

"My name is Soarin' Skies," he said. I could hear a faint Cloudsdale accent in his voice. "I've come to take you back to Star Swirl the Bearded's Academy, princess."


	3. Two

MY ANIMOSITY ASIDE, I had to confess Saran Spy- whatever was pretty clever. He took one look at the two of us whispering and ordered us separated.

"Don't let them talk to each other," he warned the guardian who ushered me to the rear of the train. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with a daring escapade."

I shot him a stormy look and stomped off down the aisle. Never mind the fact we had been concocting an escape plan. As it was, things didn't look good for our heroes—or heroines, rather. Once we were moving, our odds of escape dropped further. Even supposing a miracle occurred and I did manage to neutralize all ten guardians, we'd sort of have a problem in getting off the train. I figured some window or door could be opened, but in the unlikely event I'd be able to open it, there was still that little issue of survival, seeing as we'd probably land somewhere in the Everfree forest. And there was no way we could fly out of that one.

No, we weren't getting off this train until it stopped deep in backwoods Ponyville. I'd have to think of something then, something that involved getting past the Academy's magical wards and ten times as many guardians. Yeah. No problem. Although Fluttershy sat at the front with the Cloudsdale guy, her fear sang back to me, thrashing inside my head like a wild tiger. My apprehension for her cut into my rage. They couldn't take her back there, not to that place. I wondered if Soarin might have wavered if he knew what I knew. Probably not. He didn't care. Anyway, her emotions grew so strong that for a moment, I had the fuddling sensation of sitting in her seat—in her fur even.

It happened without much warning; she pulled me right into her mind. Soarin's tall frame sat beside me-her-, and my hand—her hand—gripped a bottle of water. He leaned forward to pick up something, revealing six tiny symbols tattooed around his cutie mark: Quest marks.

They looked like two streaks of serrated lightning crossing in an X symbol. One for each Changeling he'd taken down. Above them was a winding line, sort of like a snake, that marked him as a guardian: The promise mark.

Blinking, I struggled against her feelings and shifted back into my own head. I hated when that happened. Sensing her emotions was one thing, but slipping into her was something we both scorned. She saw it as an invasion of privacy, so I usually didn't tell her when it ensued. Neither of us could control it; it was another effect of the bond, a bond neither of us fully agreed on. Legends existed about psychic links between guardians and their Charges, but the stories had never stated anything like this. We fumbled through it as best we could.

Near the end of the ride, Soarin walked back to where I sat and traded places with the guardian beside me. I glared out the window idly. Several moments of hush ensued.

"Were you really going to assault us?"

I didn't answer.

"Doing that…defending her like that—it was very loyal." He hesitated. "Reckless, but still a valiant effort. Why would you even go for it?"

I glanced over at him, brushing my mane out of my face so I could look him levelly in the eye. "I'm her guardian." I returned my attention to the window.

After another quiet instant, he stood up and returned to the opposite side. When we arrived, I had no alternative but to let them drive us out to the Academy. Our coach stopped at the gate, and our driver spoke with guards who confirmed we weren't Changelings about to go off on a killing spree. After a minute, they let us pass on through the wards and up to the Academy itself. It was around sunrise and the campus lay wrapped in shadows. It probably looked the same, sprawling and gothic. The Bloodhorses were big on custom; nothing ever progressed with them. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same flair. The structures crowed ornate, almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here and there. After living on college campus, I had a new appreciation for just how much this place resembled a university more than a typical high school.

We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open courtyard decorated with stone paths and enormous, century-old trees. We were going toward the upper school's quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while Bronco stables and the gym stood opposite. Bloodhorse suites sat on one of the other ends, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school. Younger students lived on the primary campus, farther to the west. Around all the grounds was space, space, and more space. We were in Ponyville, after all, miles away from any real city. The air felt cool in my lungs and smelled of pine and wet, moldy leaves. Dense woodlands ringed the perimeters of the Academy, and during a clear day, you could see mountains rising up in the distance.

As we walked into the main part of the upper school, I broke from my guardian and ran up to Soarin.

"Hey, Ace."

He kept trotting and wouldn't pay me attention. "You want to talk now?"

"Are you taking us to Mare?"

"Headmistress Mayor Mare," he revised. On the other side of him, Fluttershy shot me a look that said, 'Don't start something'.

"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a complacent old bit—"

My words faded as the guardians steered us through a set of doors—straight into the plaza. I groaned. Were these people really so forbidding? There had to be at least a dozen ways to get to Mayor Mare's office, and they were taking us right through the center. And it was breakfast time.

Novice guardians—Broncos like me—and Bloodhorses sat together, eating and socializing, faces ablaze with whatever current natter the notorious gabby gums had dished out. When we entered, the din of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had turned of a light. Hundreds of sets of eyes swiveled toward us. I returned the stares of my former classmates with a sluggish grin, trying to get a sense as to whether things had changed. Nope. Didn't seem like it. Fleur-de-lis still looked like the prim, perfectly groomed bitch I remembered, still the professed leader of the Academy's royal elites. Off to the side, Fluttershy's gawky near-cousin Screwball watched with wide eyes, as innocent and naive as before.

And on the other side of the room…well, that was interesting. Fancypants. Poor, poor Fancypants, who'd no doubt, had his heart broken when Fluttershy left. He still looked as cute as ever—maybe more so now—with those regal looks that complemented hers so well. His eyes followed her every move. Yes. Undeniably not over her. It was sad, really, because Fluttershy had never really been all that interested in him. I think she'd dated him purely because it seemed like the likely thing to do. But what I found most fascinating was that Fancypants had apparently found a way to kill time without her. Beside him, nudging his neck playfully was another Bloodhorse girl, who looked like a filly but had to be older, unless he'd become a pedophile during our absence. With a soft fluffy white coat, she looked like a marshmallow. A very pissed off and evil marshmallow. She pushed him away and shot Fluttershy a look of such burning hatred that it shocked me. What the hell was that all about? She was nopony I knew. Just a bitter girlfriend, I fathomed. I'd be livid too if my guy was watching somepony else like that.

Our walk of shame generously ended, though our new situation—Headmistress Mayor Mare's office—didn't really improve things. The old hag looked exactly like I remembered, sharp nosed and gray-haired. She was tall and slim, like most Bloodhorses, and had always reminded me of a vulture. I knew her well because I'd spent a lot of time in her office.

Most of our chaperons left us once Flutters and I were brought in, and I felt a little less like a convict. Only Fleetfoot, the captain of the school's Guardians and a fellow Wonderbolt herself, and Soarin stayed. They took up places along the wall, looking forbearing and petrifying, just as their job description prerequisited. Kirova fixed her annoyed eyes on us and opened her mouth to inaugurate what would no doubt be a major bitch session. A deep voice stopped her.

"Fluttershy."

Alarmed, I recognized there was someone else in the room. I hadn't noticed. It was careless for a guardian, even a novice one. Discord rose from a corner chair. Prince Discord. Fluttershy sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his body.

"Uncle," she whispered. She sounded on the verge of tears as she tightened her grip. With a small smile, he gently patted her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Fluttershy." He looked toward me. "And you too, Rainbow Dash."

I nodded back, trying to hide how shocked I was. He'd been sick when we left, but this—this was horrible. He was Screwball's father, but he had changed so much. Deformed. Monstrous. Hideous. My heart broke watching him. With all the awful people in the world, it didn't seem fair that this guy should get a disease that was going to ultimately keep him from becoming king.

Although not technically her uncle—the Royal used family terms very loosely—Victor was a close friend of Fluttershy's family and had gone out of his way to help her after her parents had died. I liked him; he was the first person I was happy to see here.

Mayor Mare let them have a few more moments and then stiffly drew Fluttershy back. Time for the sermon. It was a good one—one of her best, which was saying something. She was a master at them. I swear that was the only reason she'd gone into school administration, because I had yet to see any evidence of her actually liking kids. The rant covered the usual topics: obligation, reckless conduct, and egotism…Bleh. I immediately found myself spacing out, alternatively pondering the logistics of escaping through the window in her office.

But when the tirade shifted to me—well, that was when I tuned back in. "You, Miss Dash, broke the most consecrated promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect her Charge. It is a great expectation, an expectation that you sullied by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Changelings would love to finish off the Dragonborns; you nearly empowered them to do it."

"Dash didn't abduct me." Fluttershy spoke before I could, her voice and face calm, despite her uneasy feelings. As usual, Flutters was a poster child for grace and poise, even in the worst situations. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her."

Mayor Mare tsked at us both and paced the office. "Miss Dragonborn, you could have been the one who arranged the entire plan for all I know, but it was still her duty to make sure you didn't see it through. If she'd done her duty, she would have alerted someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."

I snapped.

"I did do my duty!" I shouted, rising up from the ground. Soarin and Fleetfoot both started but left me alone since I wasn't trying to buck anyone. Yet. "I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of you" —I made a sweeping gesture around the room with my left wing—"could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to."

Through the bond, I felt Flutters trying to send me calming messages, again urging me not to let fury get the best of me. Too late. Mayor Mare stared at me, her face blank. "Miss Dash, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?"

I bit my lip. Were I anypony else, I would have said 'Buck logic!'

"I see. Well, then. By my assessment, the only motive for which you left—aside from the innovation of it, no doubt—was to avoid the penalties of that terrible, damaging exploit you pulled just before your disappearance."

"No, that's not—"

"And that only makes my verdict that much simpler. As a Bloodhorse, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."

My brash attitude dried up. "I…what?"

Fluttershy stood up beside me. "You can't do that! She's my guardian."

"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."

"But my parents—"

"I know what your parents desired, Celestia rest their souls, but things have changed. Rainbow Dash is unessential. She doesn't merit guardianship, and she will leave."

I gawked at her, unable to be certain of what I was hearing. "Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Sweet Apple Acres? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my father?"

Her eyes narrowed at the bite in that last word. When I spoke again, my voice was so cold, I barely recognized it.

"Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be some common breeding mare. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."

"Rainbow Danger Dash!" she hissed, "you are out of line."

"They have a bond." Soarin's low, accented voice broke the heavy tension, and we all spun toward him. I think Mare had forgotten he was there, but I hadn't. His presence was way too powerful to ignore. He still stood against the wall, looking like some sort of Air Force sentry in those ridiculous antique goggles of his. He looked at me, his dark green eyes staring straight through me.

"Rainbow Dash knows what Fluttershy is feeling. Don't you?"

I at least had the satisfaction of seeing Mayor Mare caught off guard as she glanced between us and Dimitri.

"No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."

"It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them."

Neither Flutters nor I responded, and I averted my eyes from his. "That is a gift," murmured Discord bemusedly from his corner. "A rare and wonderful thing."

"The best guardians always had that bond," he added. "In the legends."

Mayor Mare's outrage returned. "Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Certainly you aren't proposing we let her stay after everything she's done?"

He shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—"

"Wild and disrespectful?" I interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"

"Guardian Skies is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova. "Her sanctioned guardian."

"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Fluttershy?"

That was pretty mean of me to say—particularly since most Pegasi were of Cloudsdale descent—but the comment seemed cleverer at the time than it really was. And it wasn't like I was one to talk. I might have been raised in Ponyville, but my parents were foreign-born. My Bronco mother was from the fields—blonde, with a ridiculous accent—and I'd been told my Bloodhorse dad was Pegasopolian. That genetic combination had given me skin the same color as a clear day's shy, along with what I liked to think were semi-exotic sky-princess features: Rosy eyes and hair the colors of a natural phenomenon. I wouldn't have minded inheriting the freckles, but we take what we get.

Mare threw her hands up in vexation and turned to him. "You see? Completely unruly! All the psychic bonds and budding talent in all Equestria can't make up for that. A guardian without restraint is worse than no guardian."

"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again."

"Impossible. She'll still be miserably behind her peers."

"No, I won't," I claimed. No one listened to me.

"Then give her extra training sessions," he said.

They bickered while the rest of us watched the exchange like it was a Ping-Pong game. My pride was still hurt over the ease with which Soarin had tricked us, but it occurred to me that he might very well keep me here with Fluttershy. Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her. Through our bond, I could feel her drop of hope.

"Who's going to put in the extra time?" she asked. "You?"

Soarin's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I—"

Mare hmphed with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought."

Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flicked toward us, and I wondered what he saw. Two pathetic fillies, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of the Dragonborns' inheritance?

"Yes," he said finally. "I can mentor her. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."

"And then what?" retorted Mare angrily. "She goes unpunished?"

"Find some other way to punish her," answered Soarin. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular."

His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "breeders." Few Bronco girls became guardians anymore.

Discord suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Skies. Sending Rainbow Dash away would be a disgrace, a waste of talent."

Mayor Mare stared out her window. When she turned back around, Fluttershy met her eyes. "Please, Headmistress Mare. Let her stay."

'Oh, Flutters.' I thought. 'Be careful.' Using the Stare on another Bloodhorse was dangerous—particularly in front of bystanders. But Fluttershy was only using a tiny bit, and we required any advantage we could get. As luck would have it, no one seemed to realize what was happening. I don't even know if the stare made a difference, but finally, Mare sighed.

"If Miss Dash stays, here's how it will be." She turned to me. "Your sustained admission at Starswirl's is strictly provisional. Step out of line once, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Skies in every extra moment you have—before and after classes. Other than that, you are excluded from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Miss the mark on conforming to these rules, and you will be sent…away."

I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" I nodded toward Fluttershy. "Afraid we'll run away again?"

"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly castigated for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Her thin lips squeezed into a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your insolence jeopardize it."

I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Soarin's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Mayor Mare. I didn't know. Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Fluttershy beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress.

"Fine. I accept."  
***

**Thanks for reading! Make sure to review!**  
**List of characters so far:  
Rainbow Dash as Rose Hathaway  
Fluttershy as Vasilisa Dragomir  
Soarin as Dimitri Belikov  
Fleetfoot as Alberta Petrov  
Fancypants as Aaron Voda  
Certain marshmallow mare as certain porcelain doll  
Mayor Mare as Headmistress Helen Kirova  
/)^3^(\**

**MLP:FiM is from Hasbro, but was made 20% cooler by the glorious Lauren Faust**  
**Vampire academy belongs to the graceful and magnanimous Richelle Mead**


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